Daily Archives: August 17, 2015

The pace will pick up rapidly over the next month as the XVth Brigade now goes into repetitive actions. Merriman says that “Marceau” arrives to discuss his plan for the upcoming offensive. While the target is not stated, we know now that it was the village of Quinto on the Saragossa road. The ultimate target of the Aragon offensive is Saragossa and the Republicans will get within two kilometers of the city but not take it. Marceau is not spoken of previously in the diary, is not on the French lists, and if he is the planner for the Aragon Offensive, he should be well known.

Bill Lawrence is off to Morata to check on the Intendencia and auto park there. Morata was the staging area for Jarama and men will begin to move away from that front towards the Aragon. General Gal comes to tell Merriman that he will lose the Dimitroff Battalion and they will not go with the International Brigades on the offensive. Since the Brigade should be 3000 men (5 battalions in strength), this means Spanish troops have to be added to the XVth Brigade. This corresponds to Vital Gayman’s (Vidal) departing memo where he recommends 3000 men for the XVth Brigade. Gal further tells Merriman he will get 10 new trucks and new guns if he turns in the old ones. Merriman discusses the last action (Brunete) with Gal and the cooperation (or lack of it) between units.

Merriman says that a “Comrade” is here to check on the Russian anti-tank guns. One can imagine that this is a Russian technical expert. Merriman leaves after lunch and goes to Albares to discuss the preparedness of the Lincoln Battalion and Carl Bradley. The diary reads “Hesler” returns from AWOL and we interpret this as Frank Chesler who was in trouble previously in the auto park. There is no Nesler in the American or Canadian lists. Merriman also says that Samuel Gonshak wants to come back which indicates that he was under discipline for some time.

Carl Bradley goes to the British Battalion. “MacDougal” visited the British troops and Frank Ryan and George Wattis meet with them to discuss Paddy O’Daire and Peter Daly. The issue of leaves is still being discussed on the eve of shipping out for the front. It is apparent that Merriman is sounding out morale and who will be ready to fight in a few days. Merriman talks with Jim Bourne to get feedback on Joe Dallet and whether the attitude in Albares (where the Americans were based) towards Dallet would be a problem. “Let down, etc.” may indicate morale problems in the school after the lack of complete success at Brunete.

Merriman returns at 10 pm with Captain (note the emphasis) Wattis. He was able to get a promotion through Copic. Arthur Olerenshaw must have had to turn around and go back after missing his ride. Steve Nelson returned from Morata and says that the Americans sent to the 24th Battalion (Spanish) were integrating well.

At 3 AM on the 18th, Merriman gets the orders to move and we reproduce them here from the RGASPI Archives. He prepared orders for all companies and starts to pack up for the Front. A Doctor named Martinez checked out the health of the men in Ambite. Interestingly, there was a Doctor Eduardo Martinez Alonso who worked in this area about this time and was written about by Nicholas Coni. It is not clear if this is the same “Martinez” but Martinez Alonso would desert the Republican side in 1938 and go over to minister to the Rebels.

The Brigade would go first to Valencia on the 18th and then take a train towards the train station in Hijar. The convoy from the 18th would bring troops from Perales led by Van den Berghe, Ambite/Albares led by Marcovics, and from Mondejar led by George Wattis. Copic did not come back for the move (he would run on ahead to scout positions for the battalions), but General Gal came to see the Brigade off. He tells Merriman that their target is Teruel. Teruel fell to the Fascists in 1937 and that would be a target of attack later in 1937, but the direction was a deception, probably to divert the Fascists if the soldiers leaked where they were going. The actual target would be Quinto. General Gal would not be going with the XVth Brigade and his command over this group of internationals ended on the 18th.

The muster must have been impressive with 120 trucks involved and they also had to retrieve 250 men who were on leave in Madrid. At 30 men to a truck, the whole Brigade would move on the 18th. Bill Lawrence, Ed Bender and Joe Dallet arrive from Albacete to help with the move. Merriman has to send men to Madrid to roust up the nearly 200 men who were on leave. All but five were found and brought back in time to move. Lawrence and Bender brought news that Largo Caballero, who was removed during May Days, was reported to be working with the Anarchists to overthrow the Government. The Communist International line was that the Brigade would go to the front to hold off the Fascists while other troops would clean up the Anarchists in the rear. There is mention of an “Imperialist Division”, but that is not clear.

Bill Lawrence was not happy with some personnel decisions made by Steve Nelson and Merriman. Joe Dallet must have gotten disciplined about the lack of support of the troops. Dallet was accused of being “the most hated man in the brigade” by Seaman Oliver. Joe Dallet, however, is known to have been liked by both Nelson and Merriman, so this may have been in the nature of an “attitude adjustment” that Dallet needed to make. Dallet struggled with his “rank and file” attitude and yet he was in a leadership position. It appears that Dallet or Merriman made comments against Rollin Dart. Merriman is leaving but worries that Tom Wintringham was not going to be able to effectively lead the school. He says for another time that “Wintringham is not right” and Wintringham is removed from the Officer’s Training School. Recall that Copic has purged most of the British Officers over the previous few weeks and this continues his purge of the British. Canadian Bill Wheeler will go into the school at this point. Wheeler will be back on the front lines in October so this leadership position in the school is short-lived.

General Gal’s battle with Ralph Bates did not end when Bates left Spain. Now Bill Lawrence goes to Gal and tells him to fight the order that the Dimitroff Battalion will not go with the Brigade. The Dimitroffs were slated by the Ministry of War to move to the 150th Brigade and reform the XIIIth Brigade. Gal says that he only takes orders from the Ministry of War. Ignoring the senior political commissar in the American Battalion forces the issue to the top. Lawrence says that the Dimitroffs either go with the Brigade or Gal will go. In the end, Gal will be gone, but the Dimitroffs don’t move up. Gal severely underestimated the power of the political cadres in Albacete and Madrid. Gal had few backers after the failures of Brunete and even Vidal said in his memoir that Gal did not have the military experience to lead men at the Battalion or Brigade level, let alone lead a Division.

Merriman eats in Tarançon with “the Rose of Tarançon”. We had previously interpreted this as Sol Rose, but this may not in fact be the right person. Merriman sends Marion a note that he is disappointed not to be able to get to see her in Albacete and says “next time”.

Today’s route from Perales to Valencia (315 km). Flying in 55 minutes was not available to the International Brigades

The map above gives a scale of the move on the 18th of August. Tarançon is a crossroads for two routes to Valencia. Perales is near Morata de Tajuna where the Jarama Battles were staged. The rest positions of Ambite, Albares and Mondejar are northwest of Tarançon.

Robert Merriman's Diary from 1937 and a day-by-day transcription. Spend a year as Robert Merriman did.